Filius Flitwick, Hitman?
by Shadowblayze
Summary: Harry has just defeated Voldemort and needs to make arrangements to bury Remus, the last of his father's friends. To do so he needs money, which means he needs to settle things with Gringotts. Towards that end he requests the assistance of Professor Filius Flitwick, Charms Professor and half-Goblin...and former Mafia Hitman. This is bound to be interesting.


Ok! This will be a two-shot!

While all the mistakes in this are my own, please send an overwhelming amount of love towards the amazingly patient **InsaneScriptist!**

Seriously, without her this probably would have rotted on my harddrive as a half-written pile of scrap full of plot holes and spelling errors.

So, yes, a long moment of love and appreciation for her overwhelming awesomeness, if you would!

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"Professor?" Harry called quietly to the half-Goblin Charms Instructor.

The tiny Professor was standing in the Charms corridor, looking over the damage with unhappy, weary eyes. This area of the castle hadn't had many fighters in it as it was more of a passageway, but there was plenty of damage from stray spells and brief skirmishes all over the castle and this hall wasn't exempt.

"Oh, can I help you Mr. Potter?" The man asked, turning to face the disheveled, exhausted teen.

Harry smiled briefly. "Just Harry, please Professor."

"Harry, then." The Charms Professor returned with his own half-smile.

"I hate to ask you this." Harry said, running his hand through his hair and using the other to rub at his eyes. "But I need to speak with Gringotts, regarding, er…" The teen trailed off awkwardly _. How exactly am I supposed to explain this without sounding like a berk?_ He moaned internally _. Flitwick has always been neutral and he's not an Order member. He's not ashamed of his status as a half-Goblin, but I still feel-_

Flitwick's smile held a touch of genuine amusement as he replied- and broke into Harry's increasingly panicked internal monologue. "In regards to you robbing them?"

Harry winced. "Bellatrix LeStrange's Vault held something critical to ending the War."

Flitwick stared sharply at the boy for a long moment, waving his wand in a quick moment that had Harry reaching for his own out of reflex. "Privacy Ward." He explained briefly. "Other than my status as a half-Goblin, why come to me for help?"

"Well, you're the Charms Professor and-" Harry gulped in sudden apprehension, realizing just how much he was asking from someone who had only ever interacted with him in an official capacity. _Flitwick was always fair though._ His mind whispered to him. _He doesn't want to use you or smother you, he's the best choice_.

Harry closed his eyes and sighed in exhaustion as he resolved to be brutally honest. "You hold no interest in me as anything other than a student, and maybe a fellow warrior." He said tiredly. "The Order members either see me as a child or a protectorate. I've spent the last year searching for the vile items that Voldemort created to keep him anchored to life beyond his time. I'm tired and hurt and beyond exhausted. I want to settle things with Gringotts, bury the last of my family, and grieve in peace. You're the Charms Professor, which means you probably know how to cast the _Fidelius Charm_."

Filtwick nodded in acquiescence. "Fair enough." He replied, gesturing Harry to walk with him and waving his wand a few times, seemingly putting up spells to keep them from being noticed and disturbed as they made their way towards the school gates. "For my part, I regret that such a burden was placed upon you. Horcruxes are indeed vile abominations."

The teen jerked sharply, " _What_? How did you-?"

The Charms Professor released a short laugh. "I am a half-Goblin and a Charms Master, Harry." Flitwick gave the teen a side glance. "Albus and I didn't agree on methodology, which is why I never joined his Order. He also had a nasty habit of thinking himself to be the only one who could be trusted with power, while doing nothing with the power he held. Wanded Magics that do not fall under altering the composition of an object are classed in the _Charms_ category. Albus was a Transfiguration Master."

Harry huffed as he took Flitwick's proffered arm once they reached the edge of the Wards near the school gates. "You could have helped." He said bitterly. "But he didn't consult you because of _methodology_? What is wrong with your methods."

"I don't believe in letting raping, murdering bastards teach children, regardless of their level of repentance or worth as a spy, for starters." Flitwick drawled sardonically as he _twisted_ and they disappeared with a _pop_.

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Harry Potter sighed as he ran his hands through his hair for the nth time in the last few minutes.

Gringotts had taken nearly _eight hours of negotiations_ , but Professor Flitwick had pulled out all sorts of archaic rules and regulations that were in Harry's favor.

It still took Harry nearly _sixteen_ _hours_ to actually leave the bank, though.

In the end, Harry agreed to make a statement that said the goblins had assisted him in retrieving an _'item of most solemn importance to ending the reign of Voldemort'_ , and he only escaped the wizards who were illegally occupying Gringotts.

("Meaning." Professor Flitwick had told him later, "that the Goblin Nation are now in a prime position to demand recompense from the Wizarding Ministry.")

He also paid a hefty fine, (which included Ron and Hermione's parts of the restitution), and would be fined three percent of his total liquid income for the next seven years.

That was another thing.

Apparently a bunch of people had left him things in their Wills, and his Parent's Wills and Sirius' Wills were read. Thankfully, Harry was far too exhausted to be properly angry for yet another set of manipulations being uncovered.

Namely that he had properties, gold, and _responsibilities that he was expected to already know about and be taking care of_ , but he _didn't_ and _wasn't_ because there had been _unwanted interference_.

Flitwick had assisted Harry in finding a Solicitor, as Harry certainly didn't want people- _particularly the Press-_ deciding that he was the 'next Dark Lord' or something else ridiculous. Lord Federline was from a prestigious, staunchly neutral firm who also practiced in the nonmagical world.

The man was sworn in as Harry's official Representative before Harry left the Bank.

Flitwick had then guided Harry to a Wizarding Undertaker who was located in a small side street that Harry had never noticed. After they entered Market Alley, (the name of the Alley that the side street led to), Professor Flitwick had parked Harry under a random store's awning before slipping off and getting a Pepper Up Potion for the overwhelmed teen, who drank it down gratefully.

Harry had been incredibly grateful for the half-goblin's steady presence as he made arrangements for Tonks and Remus. Harry told the man- _Mr. Shrewport_ \- that he'd be speaking with Andromeda Tonks shortly, in case the woman had specific requirements in regards to her daughter, so he'd been getting back to him soon to finalize the arrangements.

By that time, Harry had been weighed down by his freshly raw grief and his absolute exhaustion.

Flitwick had gently prodded the teen until he had led the tiny man to Number Twelve, where the Charms Professor had set up the required Ward Anchors for the _Fidelius Charm_ briskly and cast the Ward less than an hour after their arrival.

"Harry Potter's Godfather left him Number Twelve to piss Padfoot's mother off." Harry mumbled to the Professor as he finally succumbed to exhaustion.

Filius sighed and made sure the young teen was comfortable before he let himself out.

 _Poor child_. He thought as made his way out the door and down the street, finding a discreet place to _Apparate_ back to Hogwarts _. Albus was many things, but infallible he was not. It grates against my senses that this child suffered so terribly just because Albus didn't like my past_.

The man snorted derisively as he made his way back towards his living quarters, deftly avoiding those who were still cluttering the halls despite it being an obscenely early hour of the morning. _As if I had a plethora of options as a half-Goblin. Albus only hired me because he wanted an exceptional Charms Master, only at a reduced price. He could get by with paying me half of what the others earned due to my birth status._

As the door closed behind him and his Wards snapped back into place the half-Goblin gave an amused, sardonic grin as he thought _. The old manipulator probably spent what he didn't pay me on lemon drops and personal business._

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The funerals had been _wretched_ , but he'd made it through.

Andromeda and Teddy were staying with him for the moment, as Andy couldn't return to the house that she'd shared with her late husband and had raised her only child in just yet. Harry had brought them to Number Twelve after he'd gone to speak with Andy about the funeral arrangements. The woman had confessed to him that she and Teddy needed to leave Hogwarts but she couldn't face the home that she'd built with her husband and the place she'd raised her only child in just yet.

Truthfully, Harry had been _terrified_ that Andromeda would bar his access to Teddy or blame him for Tonks' death, but the woman had merely hugged him fiercely when he'd showed up to inform her that he'd started the arrangements for Tonks and Remus' burials. It had soothed Harry's nerves enough for him to make the offer, even though he'd been planning on holing up at Number Twelve alone.

" _Thank you." She'd cried into his shirt as she held Teddy close. "I don't think I could have brought myself to deal with it right now_."

Andy, while being a fully-fledged Healer, was more concerned with Teddy and helping Harry than serving the 'Greater Good', which Dumbledore always had worked for.

The Healer had quickly begun to take measures to correct Harry's state of health and she plied Potions and medical spells onto the teenage Potter. He'd grown nearly five inches, gotten rid of his glasses- though he needed generic reading glasses if he was going to be reading for long periods of time- and actually gained a healthy glow to his skin.

The spells used to fix his eyes were actually a series of intricate charms and minor transfigurations that were overlaid onto his eyes before a two-week regimen of potions were dripped directly onto his eyes at regular intervals as the spells and potions fused together, allowing Harry to only need reading glasses occasionally instead of his former blind-without-my-glasses need.

Say whatever you want about them, but Black women were _bloody wicked_. Especially as Harry looked back onto what his physical health had been like only a few shorts months ago and realizing just how many aches and pains had become white noise. Even when he rested for only two or three hours before nightmares catapulted him back into the land of the living he felt loads better than he had before, even after his day-and-a-night rest he'd had following the battle.

Looking back, Harry was incredibly happy that Andy hadn't taken his 'I'm fine' at face value.

The woman, having been raised a Black and entirely unafraid to use borderline-dark spells to accomplish her goals, was also attacking Number Twelve with a vengeance. With Kreacher's help they were winning, slowly making the creepy house that had been Sirius' prison into a _home_.

The elf had shown up when Harry had said his name while talking to Andy shortly after they'd taken up residence at Number Twelve and had refused to leave. The tiny being was _beyond thrilled_ with his new 'Master'- as Harry had fulfilled Regulus' last request, and the teen reminded Kreacher more of 'Good Master Regulus' than 'Nasty Bad Master'- and having Andromeda and Teddy in the Black home.

Harry had been rather shocked by the lack of 'blood traitor' comments, but he realized that with Wallburga's portrait gone- Andomeda's doing- and the Horcrux destroyed many of the things that had been weighing Kreacher down were no longer an issue.

The fact that Andy was using Dark-ish Magic in her crusade against Number Twelve probably also helped.

Warm woods replaced the old dark ones. The wallpaper was stripped away and Andy declared that they were going to replace the previously magically-generated materials with nonmagically made ones so that the spells would adhere better.

" _It's actually better to use nonmagically made materials." Andy explained to Harry one afternoon as they sat sipping tea in the newly gutted Drawing Room. "The Expansion Charms can be pushed further without distorting or destabilizing; the Rune Work and Arithmetic Formulae can be inscribed without interference; and the spells that are applied to the nonmagically generated materials hold longer and with superior quality. Certain areas have to be specially treated with potions or specific spells, of course, as nonmagical substances don't hold against spells or Potion malfunctions, but starting from a neutral base is always best. Even the most die-hard fanatics know that much!"_

Andy and Harry also believed that while some Dark Magic could be useful, they didn't want Dark Magic Tomes and Dark Artifacts sitting freely around the house. They discussed putting in a specially warded area after the renovations were finished, but for now they wanted to get those things out of the house- and far away from Teddy, who would be running around as a curious toddler before too much longer.

To solve their dilemma, Kreacher was sent out to buy magically expanded trunks for them to store things inside. Andy and Harry were leery of throwing things _away_ \- you never knew when being able to reverse-engineer a Dark Artifact or Dark Spell could save some's life- and be placed in the Family Vaults or specially warded areas of the house after the renovations were finished. The items that were cursed were mostly long removed or de-cursed thanks to Mrs. Weasley and Bill, which was one thing to be happy about as they didn't have to deal with Dark Curses for the most part.

Teddy was having a blast watching the magic being used and 'helping' with the toy wand they'd gotten him. Of course, Teddy was still at the stage where he was more likely to chew on the toy than play with it, so he was mostly doing one or the other as Kreacher fussed over him and kept him away from dangerous situations.

Harry had been to see the Weasley's, who were also hosting Hermione, a few times in the last month, but he'd felt strangely disconnected and detached from everyone when he'd been there.

First had been the dreadful conversation with Ginny that had occurred shortly after he'd arrived. She had been the one to answer the door and had promptly thrown herself into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder, which had been fine, because he had appreciated how difficult the past few weeks had been for her. Harry had maneuvered them into the living room, and for the next while they'd sat on the sofa together, him just holding her and offering all the comfort that he could.

It had gotten awkward when she'd tried to kiss him. He'd diverted his head, so she'd ended up placing a wet, sloppy, awkward kiss on his cheek.

She'd frowned at him and pulled away with a huff, crossing her arms and angrily looking off into the distance. "What, you're still trying to _protect_ me?" She'd muttered irritably, swiping at her eyes roughly every few seconds.

"No, Gin." He'd told her after an incredibly long, tremendously uncomfortable pause. "I just-" He'd sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not in a condition to be in a relationship. With anyone." He'd finally told her, hoping that the brutal honesty would somehow help her understand what he couldn't seem to put into words.

Sharp, furious brown eyes had pinned him under their deadly glare. "Fine!" She'd snapped at him, getting up from the sofa and storming towards the stairs. "Harry's here!" She'd bellowed as she'd stomped up the steps, the sound of her bedroom door slamming echoing through the house a moment later.

A few moments later, Molly had poked her head out of the kitchen and Weasleys had begun pouring into the living room. Percy was even there, which was sort of odd to see, and they had all been seated around the kitchen table, enjoying some of Molly's cooking in short order.

Of course, the subject of Gringotts had come up and once Ron had heard that Harry had paid for his and Hermione's share as part of Harry's settlement of the damages the three of them had caused at Gringotts, it had sparked a huge row between the two of them. Harry's temper had already been high due to the incident with Ginny and Harry hadn't fully forgiven the redhead for running off and making Hermione choose between the two of them during the Horcrux Hunt.

Having a row about money, which devolved into other things as the argument grew nastier, in a house filled with shattered, grieving people who were also looking for a distraction wasn't something Harry ever wanted to experience again.

Compounding his row with Ron was Hermione's fragile state of being at the moment. Despite the War being over and her feelings being returned by the boy she swore she wanted to marry and grow old with, Hermione was a _wreck_.

The strong, brilliant witch who had stood by him in his darkest times was teetering on her _absolute_ _breaking_ _point_. Give Hermione a mystery, an unsolvable problem or an enemy to fight and she'd be solid. Anything but personal emotional distress.

Harry didn't want to repay her steadfast loyalty by being the one to push over the edge, not when she was debating whether or not to find her parents or to simply let them be and where she wanted her life to go from this point forward.

Harry knew that Hermione had always felt comfort in structure and organization. A year on the run with two other teenage boys, a corrupting Horcrux, a tent for a mobile home, the ever-imminent threat of capture, torture, and/or death, and the knowledge that her best friend held a shard of a megalomaniac's soul in his head and was set up to die by one of the authority figures that she trusted most had put the poor young woman into a tailspin. Harry didn't know how to help with that other than be there for her and he couldn't do _that_ because Ron was being a jealous berk. The last thing he wanted was to upset Hermione more due to him and Ron arguing.

Therefore, Harry returned to Grimmuald and let Ron and his family be there for her.

He hadn't gone back to the Burrow since, despite the letters and Floo calls, though the Floo calls had stopped.

(Unknown to Harry, Andy had disconnected the incoming Floo connection. The woman wasn't about to lose _another_ member of her family, it had shrunk as far as she would allow it to.)

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Lavender Brown _hated_ the pitying/horrified looks she got whenever someone saw the silvery scars that were a constant remembrance of Fenrir Greyback's attack on her during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Her Daddy had died in the final days of the War and she wasn't speaking to her Mum or her sisters. The woman was constantly making comments about covering 'those hideous blemishes' and Lavender's sisters were right in there with her.

Lavender could sort of understand their viewpoints. As purebloods in a neutral house, the War hadn't truly impacted the Brown women. Lavender had been the worst off because she had been the only one at school during it, and a Gryffindor to boot! Lavender was also the baby of the family as her sisters were a decade and a dozen years older than she was, and like their mother had been in Ravenclaw.

Darius Brown- _her Daddy_ \- had died while trying to help smuggle muggleborns out of the country, but the War had ended before her family had truly come up for punishment.

Her Daddy had been the one who had understood her best, as she'd taken after him in her House placement, and he was _gone_.

Parvati had gone back to India with Padma and was attending to her duties as a member of the Line of Patil. As Lavender was Parvati's best friend, she knew that the twins' mother had been a Hogwarts-educated witch, which was why the girls had attended Hogwarts.

However, their father was high-ranking Indian nobility; descended from the Ganga Dynasty. The Ganga Dynasty, according to muggle records, reigned in Classical India from 1078 to 1434. It wasn't unusual for Princes, (because polygamy was often practiced), to gain a title denoting their rank in relation to their fellow Princes. Around the thirteenth century, the ruling monarch chose to award the highest title- _Maharajadhiraja_ (or _Maharajadhiraj_ ), in English: Great Prince over Princes- to his eldest son who wielded magic. The son then took all the magicals in the monarch's authority and together they went into hiding, several centuries before the International Statute of Secrecy that was established in 1692.

When the Ganga Dynasty fell, the hidden magicals became a state unto their own, but the highest title remained _Maharajadhiraja_ in deference to their original ruler. The girls had been allowed to fight for their mother's homeland, but were up to their ears in formal duties nowadays, and so Lavender was on her own.

She tilted her chin upwards in defiance as she strode through Diagon Alley.

They were _battle scars_ and she was a _Gryffindor_.

Lavender _refused_ to let the populace see that their looks bothered her.

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Harry ran a hand through his hair as he straightened up from his Apparition, running a hand over his breast pocket where his reading glasses were secured in preparation for his upcoming meeting.

Despite Filius'- the tiny Professor had insisted that Harry call him Filius- promotion to Deputy Headmaster and all the rebuilding currently underway at Hogwarts, the tiny Professor had been around for tea and dinner several times. Harry found the half-Goblin to be an entertaining dinner companion, with a sharp mind and quick wit, and Andy greatly enjoyed having her former Professor to chat with.

Filius' position as Harry's 'calm in the storm' was only disturbed by the fact that the Professor had been quite forthright about Harry's options in the world. Filius had ganged up against Harry, taking Andy's side in the debate that supported Harry studying for his NEWTs and possibly trying for at least an OWL in Arithmancy or Runes, as both fields were quite important to any career Harry seemed vaguely interested in.

It seemed that every day he woke up and found a new path that he wanted his life to take now that he was free from the Prophecy that had shackled him from before he'd even been born. It didn't help matters that he hadn't known what classes were required for specific fields of work, or the numerous jobs within that field of work.

The half-Goblin had patiently listed Harry's education options and had gently probed the boy to talk about things, and then listened without trying to help or tell Harry what to think and feel. Those were the chats that Harry held the closest, and he had them with Andy as well, sometimes late at night when his nightmares made rest impossible and they sat in one of the gutted rooms at Number Twelve and discussed whatever caught their fancy.

 _It's almost like having grandparents_. Harry huffed out a quiet laugh as he navigated the Alley.

Harry made his way towards Gringotts, where he was meeting Lord Federline and Professor Flitwick for another round of paperwork and decisions regarding the estates that had defaulted to him through either the Potter or Black lines from other families dying out and the Rite of Succession falling to him.

 _I wish that I'd been sorted into Ravenclaw_. Harry thought sardonically as he weaved through the crowds. The auburn accents he'd had Andy add to his hair and his recent physical changes making him nigh unrecognizable at a distance- especially without his glasses. Harry was quite happy those atrocious things were gone, more so now that reading didn't give him a headache due to an outdated prescription. _Then I would have been somewhat prepared for all this 'Sacred Twenty Eight' and 'End of Line Obligations for the Preserving Most Ancient and Most Noble House' nonsense. Apparently when a line dies out and reverts all the way back to their original Most Ancient and Most Noble progenitors- because the wizarding world is so interconnected it seems as if just about everyone can trace their ancestry back to one at some point- there's a ton of obligations that come with them and their stuff. Bloody annoying 'Obligations'. That's not including those who willed me things because of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' nonsense. There should have been classes about this kind of thing!_

Harry's eyes were filled with shadows as his thoughts took a darker turn. _Then again, I wasn't supposed to survive, was I, Headmaster? The Deathly Hallows were a later, last-ditch effort, not something you planned from the beginning_. Harry thought with a mocking lilt twisting his lips. _Filius has been more of a mentor to me in the past few months than you ever were, sir. He's even helped me see that the whole world doesn't belong on my shoulders. It'll take a while, but with Filius and Andy's help, I might get away from the wizarding world and live my life the way I want to._

Harry was looking forward to it.

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Lavender ran into Harry as she was entering the Bank and he was exiting it.

The young woman smiled up at her former Housemate. "Harry!" She chirped cheerily to the other who stopped and stared at her with an unreadable expression.

"Lavender?" Harry's voice was tentative, discreetly checking to see if his glasses were still perched on his nose. "You recognize me?"

Lavender smiled and toyed with the ends of the scarf she had wrapped around her neck. "Of course! We only were in the same house for six years! Honestly, Harry!"

The other smiled and they moved to the side, so as not to block the door. "How have you been?" Harry asked after a beat of awkward silence.

Lavender's smile wobbled, but she tilted her chin defiantly. "Fine." She said in a measured tone. "I'm here to receive my inheritance from my Daddy and then I'll be house hunting."

Harry's green eyes assessed her sharply and he seemed to be debating with himself for a moment. "Well." He said slowly, "If I remember correctly you were interested in design, right? Like, home design on top of the fashion stuff?"

"Of course!" Lavender replied, beaming like sunshine and genuinely excited for what seemed to be the first time in _ages_. "I love fashion and clothes, of course, but I love decorating in any form!"

"That's great!" Harry told her, smiling for the first time since they'd started chatting. "You see Andy- Andromeda Tonks, my Godson's Grandmother- is really great at Charms, but neither one of use are good at design beyond the basics. We could really use some help."

Lavender's heart sped up a bit and she clutched at her scarf. "Oh?" She said in the most level voice she could manage. "Why don't you just hire out a professional?"

Harry grimaced. "The War's not that long gone, Lav. And I'm not about to invite people I don't trust into my home."

"We're not close." She felt the need to point out. "And I suspect that Granger could-"

"This isn't about Hermione or Ron." Harry cut in defensively, eyes guarded and distant the instant that Lavender uttered Hermione's name.

Lavender's eyes widened in alarm and she fluttered her hands anxiously in a gesture of apology. "Oh no! I'm sorry, Harry! It's just-" Lavender closed her eyes and forced back the burning tears that wanted to make themselves known. After a moment she tried again, and in a low, wounded voice she whispered. "It's just been hard lately, you know?" She blinked rapidly and bit her lip as she looked at her former Housemate in pained acceptance, trying to smile through the stinging in her eyes and the ache in her chest. "It was supposed to _end_ and everything was supposed to be okay again, you know? But that's-" She tilted her head back and glanced at the sky a moment, then she huffed and smiled through her tears. "-that's just not what's happened though. At least not for me."

Harry smiled wanly at her. "Me either."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

They looked at each other for a moment and then smiled at the feeling of camaraderie that descended upon them.

"So…..." Harry said after a moment of basking in the feeling of _not being alone_. "Do you want to be my interior decorator?"

Lavender laughed brightly. "Of _course_ , Mr. Potter!"

"No pink." Harry shot back with a crooked grin, tilting his head back and raising an eyebrow at the blonde.

"I'll have you know that Umbridge ruined pink for me!" She rejoined indignantly, one hand on her hip and the other fluttering around in front of her to emphasize her point. "That-that wicked little _toad-woman_ ruined my _former_ favorite color!"

Harry chortled with laughter. "Uh-huh. Just so we're clear, Miss Brown."

"Crystal!" She snapped back with a grin on her face.

It felt good to banter with one of their peers again.

For both of them.

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Andromeda accepted Lavender's inclusion with grace and dignity, (despite Harry fearing that Lavender's inclusion would stir up memories that Andy wasn't quite prepared to deal with just yet).

With Lavender's eye for detail and design and Andy's magical prowess the house was rapidly changing.

Harry and Teddy mostly just stayed out of the way and amused themselves as the two women threw themselves into fully renovating Number Twelve.

Harry and Teddy eventually moved their efforts to the garden as the women apparently decided that doing _one room at a time_ wasn't possible and seemed to be working _everywhere at once_.

While he used magic to amuse his Godson, Harry did most of the labor for the newly reconstructed garden the old-fashioned way and he relished the aches that the work caused him. It made him feel accomplished and alive as he worked, letting Teddy help with small tasks that weren't too much for him.

(Which mostly consisted of Teddy being adorable and eventually getting dirty, which would then prompt Kreacher to pop in and whisk the baby away for a bath before Harry or someone else could even consider doing so.)

Kreacher was kept happily busy fetching things and cooking dinner, as the residents of Number Twelve insisted that breakfast and lunch be made by one of them. Kreacher did stretch 'dinner' to include 'tea', though. Sneaky Black-family elf!

Filius spent a surprising amount of time at Number Twelve, considering his position as the Deputy Headmaster and the rebuilding efforts that were underway at the Castle, but Harry and Lavender both enjoyed their former Professor's company. It was mostly through Filius that they were kept informed of the goings-on in their part of the world, as they didn't subscribe to the _Daily Prophet_ and the _Quibbler_ was on hiatus due to Luna's father's equipment being repaired. The fact that the man had died in the War and Luna wasn't quite ready to take up the reigns of her father's legacy went unsaid.

So their days were filled with work and the labor of making a forbidding house a home, interspersed with studying and learning from two talented individuals who could make anything a learning experience, and their evenings were spent in conversation and laughter over wizarding board games- more than just Wizarding Chess and Gobstones- with Andy and Harry introducing nonmagical games as their Wizarding selection became monotonous. There was also a great deal of games they played for Teddy's amusement.

As time passed both teens began to decompress from the horrors that they'd witnessed, mostly through midnight conversations in the kitchen or the garden or at the top of the stairs, huddled on the highest step.

Andy and Filius were steadfast anchors to the young adults as they fell apart and reconstructed themselves over and over during the course of that summer. Secluded away from the world and reality Harry and Lavender began to _heal_.

Harry told Filius and Andy _everything_ , and Lavender simply by proximity. He began to work through issues that were rooted far back into his childhood. Lavender, in turn, spoke frankly about her family situation, and how she was all but dead to her mother and sisters, as she no longer fit their idea of 'perfection'.

So the days and weeks and months passed as the teens worked through their issues, single cups of tea and several of Kreacher's marvelous blueberry scones at a time. Andy and Filius patient and steadfast in their support, never pushing the teens faster than they were ready, but neither allowing them to brood over-long either.

They were by no means healed and perfect.

Harry had yet to reach out to those he'd long considered his surrogate family, as all he could see when he thought of doing so were the looks on their faces during the funerals and then the shouts of he and Ron as they nearly came to blows at the Burrow after the funeral. Lavender still wore her scarves some days when she was working in an area with shiny, reflective surfaces, and had days where she refused to allow anyone into the rooms where she was working as she cried and raged over losing her remaining family over her battle scars.

However, they were _progressing_ instead of _standing still_.

By the time Hogwarts started for the 1998 Fall term, Harry and Lavender had both decided not to return. Neither young adult felt ready and able to return to the Castle that had been both home and hell for them.

Of course, by then Harry's friends were getting desperate to see him as they'd started to heal on their own and began to realize that they'd left him alone right when he needed them.

However, Harry was _happy_ with Andy, Teddy, Lav, and Filius and reluctant to leave the little safety niche he had carved out for himself.

'Potter Luck' was very much a _thing_ , Harry should have remembered that.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

The Ministry for Magic could track a magical signature based on the wand that was registered to the person or when one of the Ministry's sensors picked up an erratic outburst in an area with no registered magicals residing there.

(Hence the reason why Harry had been tagged for using his wand when Dobby had levitated that pudding and dropped it on Aunt Petunia's dinner guest.

The incident with Marge registered as a 'large burst of uncontrolled magic in a nonmagical zone' and was why the Ministry was immediately notified. Of course, knowing what he did now, Harry understood that the Aurors should have arrived and investigated, but Umbridge had circumvented the system and used it to punish those she deemed 'lesser' as opposed to hand the information over to the proper authorities and have due process followed.)

After the Order members within the Ministry realized that the Ministry was going to fall to the Death Eaters, they destroyed much of the monitoring equipment during the last moments of the battle, in a desperate bid to buy time for the families of muggleborns and disrupt the Death Eater's Ministry from tracking Order members by location and better preparing the squads sent out to fight against them. The Trace allowed for a more precise version of tracking as it kept track of which spells were used but it didn't take a genius to realize that any magic done outside of a registered home or magical areas was likely to be done by anyone against the Death Eater's takeover.

Of course, with the War over, this meant that the Ministry was still scrabbling to reestablish their system of detection-and-identification methods. The Statute of Secrecy, however, absolutely must be upheld at all costs. So it was the predominately nonmagical areas were where the Ministry focused on redeveloping their sensor network first and foremost, despite this meaning that most magical children weren't being properly chastised for abusing their independence from the Trace Monitoring System.

'Unplottable' locations were just that- unable to be plotted or located by conventional magical means.

Of course, Gringotts could plot such a location as they _did not use conventional magical means_. However, the Goblins of Gringotts guarded all their riches fiercely- especially after they had been forced by the Wizards to stand down and allow themselves to be 'occupied' during the War- and weren't about to surrender that sort of information to the wizarding Ministry.

What this meant for Harry was that while magic cast within the Wards of Number Twelve was untraceable, once he stepped beyond the Wards into the street he was in a 'nonmagical zone' according to the Ministry of Magic.

Harry's beloved Holly and Phoenix feather wand had been destroyed in the War, and the Elder Wand he kept wrapped in the Cloak with the Stone, which had re-appeared somehow even though Harry had previously left it in the Forbidden Forest before the Battle of Hogwarts.

He actually put them- all three of the Deathly Hallows- in the Mokeskin Pouch that Hagrid had given him so long ago. Filius had charmed the pouch to appear to be the size of a Galleon and Harry had gotten Andy's help in fashioning a leather strap for the small medallion so that it could be worn as a necklace.

Filius had then helped Harry, (Filius did most of the work for him), use the fading vestiges of the Blood Wards to craft a protection that only allowed Harry to be able to notice the thing. The charms were powered by his own magic, like the actual Blood Wards had been. The effect of his mother's sacrifice wasn't as strong as it had once been, but with his magic knowingly supporting it, the sacrifice was plenty strong enough to hide something that small.

The leather strap that it was threaded on was Charmed to be only able to be removed or lifted by Harry himself. It was a gloriously tricky, ingenious bit of magic.

So, with his original wand out of play and the Elder Wand safely tucked away, Harry had been using an old Black Family wand that they had found at Number Twelve. He had no idea what it was made of, but it worked well enough for him.

However, the fact was that he was still a few blocks away from home when he was spotted and spells began flying past him, and he had no plans of leading the attackers any closer to his sanctuary.

Harry ducked and weaved away from his attackers, his groceries tragically sacrificed to block a nasty-feeling orange-colored curse and a Killing Curse. The teen was fairly certain that the Ministry would be on the scene soon, but as long as _Harry_ didn't use magic he should be able to escape cleanly. The Aurors were likely to believe that the duo had simply attacked a random muggle who happened to look like Harry Potter.

Harry was mentally berating himself for forgetting to put up the usual blocking spells he used that prevented him from being tracked by magical means as he slipped into an alleyway and ran the length of it quickly. He then hopped up onto a closed garbage can and boosted himself over the low garden wall, cutting across the backyard of the small townhouse and jumping the fence quickly.

Not a moment too soon it turned out, as a sickly yellowish curse impacted the chain-links of the fence and caused the metal to become a snarling, spitting pile of molten liquid.

 _So glad Andy and Filius believe in training the body as well as the mind._ Harry thought as he heard the distinctive _crack_ of Apparition, but only one. He scarcely had time to wonder why the Ministry had only sent a single Auror before a man he didn't recognize was in front of him, wand pointed at Harry's chest, and a gruesome smile on his face.

"Goodbye, Potter." The man cooed mockingly, spittle flying from between his cracked lips as yellowed teeth were bared at Harry in twisted triumph.

Harry just a heartbeat of time, not nearly enough time to draw his wand or dodge. Just a heartbeat in which the man's lips moved, words spilled forth, and a brown-ish looking curse emerged from the tip of the wand.

 _I don't want to die_. Harry thought in that moment, as time seemed to shatter as the light drew nearer.

 _I won't die_. He thought in the next.

Then his world was swathed in fire.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Filius had been dispatched to find Harry because Andromeda had forgotten to tell him that they needed more cereal for Teddy.

While Kreacher normally jealously guarded the task of grocery shopping, the House Elf was entertaining Teddy while Andromeda and Lavender were doing some intensive work to Teddy's bedroom. The women had discovered that the toddler adored dinosaurs and dragons recently, so they were repainting everything from fluffy-newborn-baby-friendly to awesome-dragons-and-dinosaurs-toddler-friendly.

However, sometimes they underestimated the complexity of some of their self-appointed tasks and days such as today happened, wherein Kreacher was busy entertaining Teddy and Harry volunteered to go grocery shopping.

As a man who was both a Dueling Master and a former Hitman, Filius felt that he had instincts on par with most high-level assassins.

So when he felt the spell residue and spied the groceries on the ground, he quickly came to the conclusion that something had happened to Harry and hurriedly cast the correct charms to track the teen, cursing when they actually _worked_.

 _I'm going to make him bleed for this slip-up!_ Filius growled within his mind as he dashed towards the location that his spells indicated.

Filius felt the wave of power that was released when the Flame Activation occurred, and he narrowed his eyes as he poured on more speed. He didn't even stop when he came across a cackling Carrow, ( _that one had been in Ravenclaw_ , his mind idly noted), just touched two fingers to the back of the idiot's neck near the juncture to the base of the skull, and pushed his keenly honed Storm Flames inside. They obediently disintegrated the nerves and tissues, killing the man almost instantly.

 _I'm fairly certain that was a Yaxley_ , _they all have that supercilious accent to their magic and it irritates my senses_. Filius noted of the burned figure in front of Harry as he pushed through the lingering magic and the Flames pouring off the teen. One Filius came within touching distance he grabbed Harry's arm, quickly spinning on his heel and Apparating them both out just as the sounds of incoming Apparitions filled the air.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

"So you were a Hitman? A Hitman who was a part of an underground society that even Dumbledore didn't know about?" Harry asked later that evening, after Filius had gotten them back to Number Twelve safely. "That's why you weren't in the Order?"

Well, Filius had gotten them to safety, put Harry to bed, gotten the groceries, and then waited for Harry to wake up to give him the lecture of a lifetime before dropping this particular bombshell onto him.

About Flames and the Mafia and Omertá.

Harry had vaguely known that the mafia existed, and that they were organized crime syndicates, but no more than that. Vernon had ranted occasionally about 'no good criminals' who 'murdered upstanding citizens for doing their jobs' that were 'were worse than those who lived on the Dole' and 'stole honest earnings from law-abiding, hardworking folk', at which point he'd usually glare at Harry if he happened to be in the room. Other than that most of Vernon's rant content- and therefore Harry's knowledge- about organized crime was just the man repeating his statements in a slightly louder voice as he got deeper into his cups.

"But this Omertá thing, you shouldn't be telling us this, should you?" Lavender asked, her eyes bouncing from Filius, to Harry, then to Andromeda, before landing on Filius once more. "And especially not me and Andy?"

Andromeda laughed brightly. "Sweetheart, did you really think that those flashes of light you give off sometimes are truly just accidental magic?"

Filius looked incredibly amused as Andy's laugh tapered off into chuckles. "Most magicals who achieve Flame Activation never realize it because they tend to write off things as 'Accidental Magic' because it makes sense for them to do so."

"Yeah, but you said that these Flames awaken in life-or-death situation." Harry interjected, a frown on his face. "Why hadn't they, er- Activated before now? I mean, I've been in loads of life-threatening situations."

 _I died._ Went unsaid.

"I would wager." Filius hummed as he tapped his chin thoughtfully, idly fussing with his teacup with his free hand. "That since the piece of Riddle within you was simply a shard of the whole soul it left you locked in a battle of wills. I would wager that Riddle was your opposite in terms of Flame Potential and that left you in Opposition, or rather your two souls were constantly in conflict so your Flames couldn't Activate."

"But wouldn't a whole soul win over a shard of one?"

"You would think." Filius admitted, swirling some sugar into his tea as he explained his theory. "However, Harry had a soul shard of a man who was old enough to be his grandfather embedded into his head. Some belief systems say that there is a 'third eye' or the 'mind's eye' in the middle of the lower forehead, just between the eyebrows.

Mind you, I'm not particularly spiritualistic, but the Dying Will Flames when first Activated tend to sprout from the center of the forehead. After Activation you can train to use them differently, but when chemically induced, that is typically where they form from. Those who achieve Activation can also see other Flames users' Flames, but 'normal' people who do not know of Flames and has not achieved Activation cannot see them. I believe that this lends some credence to the 'third eye' spiritualism, at least somewhat."

Harry's brows knit together as he tried to puzzle his way through the information. "So," He said slowly. "You think that because the entry point for Voldemort's soul was so near my 'third eye', even though it was only a shard it was able to overpower my inherent Flame capabilities?"

Filius beamed at Harry, pleased beyond words that the boy had tried to reason his way through instead of just accepting the information and dismissing it or asking for a concrete answer, as he would have six months ago. It was always gratifying for an educator to see their students grow and begin to branch out on their own. "Indeed, Mr. Potter!" The tiny man agreed cheerfully. "I believe that Riddle's age, your own age when the incident occurred, and the shard's proximity to your 'third eye' prevented you from being able to manifest your own Dying Will Flames."

"Wait!" Lavender cried suddenly, blushing as all the attention turned to her. "Well, it's just- your First Year? Quirrell?" She offered somewhat bashfully after her rather loud outburst.

"Hm, oh yes. You did describe Flames from that encounter, didn't you?"

They debated back and forth about the encounter and what Harry may or may not remember due to trauma and having slept since then, but eventually Harry asked the question he _really_ wanted an answer to.

"But why is _Andy_ able to hear all this?"

Andy's grin turned rather wicked. "Dearest, you didn't think I managed to hide from the Black Family Crazies by marrying a muggleborn from a _normal_ nonmagical family, did you?"

"Ted?"

The woman nodded and hid her sharp smile behind her teacup as her eyes danced with mischief. "I was raised a Black, dear. A normal life was never on the agenda for me." Her smile turned pained and longing as her eyes went unfocused and her gaze stared unseeingly at the kitchen wall. "My Ted, he was a Hufflepuff through and through, and loyal to his core. It's what made him a Hufflepuff. He-" Andy broke off with a pained grimace and sharp intake of breath as her eyes went to her tea and her hands trembled lightly. "He was caught because he came back to help those who couldn't help themselves. Not because he, himself couldn't disappear. Nym was pregnant and he knew if they hunted him, they'd not be hunting others. Most muggleborn end up in Hufflepuff, you see. Half-bloods tend to split between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, mostly." Andy smiled wistfully into her tea. "It took seven Death Eaters to take him down."

"Ted believed in equal force, like Filius." Lavender realized with startled blue eyes. "That's why you two weren't in the Order."

Andy's wistful smile turned into a snarl. "The person I blame most for my daughter and husband's death is Albus Dumbledore." She declared stoutly, setting her cup down firmly and looking at the two teens with blazing eyes. "If he had done what his position entailed and enforced the penalties those scoundrels deserved, the losses we suffered in this War could have been mitigated, at least. Instead he pleaded for clemency, forgiveness, and mercy. Bah. As if any of them gave their victims any."

Harry hummed in noncommittal agreement as Filius, Andy, and Lav began to enthusiastically discuss Sun Flames; those were what Lav's occasional flashes of 'magic' really were, apparently.

As the conversation blurred into the background, Harry stared into his tea and contemplated his feelings about the former Headmaster of Hogwarts. On the one hand he was still felt a bit conflicted, as he knew of Snape's sacrifices to see him safe over the years and the plans that the Headmaster had come up with to try and save Harry from dying for real. However, he'd also seen some of what Filius was capable of, and he could honestly say that he'd rather had Filius watching his back than Snape, insider information be dammed. That wasn't even considering all the information and possible alternative methods for removing the Horcrux and even locating them that Filius could have contributed to the cause.

It was a revolving issue that he regularly thought about and tried to work through. However it seemed as if hindsight opened his eyes to so many unpleasant, glaring holes in his formerly idolized Headmaster that it made him nearly physically ill to think about how used he'd been. The intentional ignorance of so many parts of life that he had been learning about since the Battle of Hogwarts, and many more things besides, now that he had time to himself to think and remember.

Especially as Filius was an Occlumens and had taken to teaching Lavender and Harry as a method to help them work through their war memories and curb their nightmares. Filius' method of Occlumency was entirely different from the type that Snape had attempted to teach Harry in Fifth Year and it was actually easy to get the hang of once he'd finally managed to figure out how he pictured his own 'inner world', which was the basic philosophy that Filius' method was based off of.

Practicing Occlumency had the pleasant side-effect of improving their information recall, helping them center themselves after a nightmare of emotional experience, and allowed them to distance themselves from the emotion in their memories and look at situations a bit more objectively.

As a result, Harry had been able to recall details about certain events that he'd formerly overlooked or had forgotten.

Dumbledore had _thoroughly read Snape's mind_ when the man had come sniveling to the Headmaster to save Lily Evans-Potter.

Which meant that…

 _Dumbledore had to have known that the Potter family's security had been compromised_.

How else could he have prepared everything for the Blood Wards so quickly? And knowing that, did Dumbledore simply suspect Sirius, who was known to be Harry's Godfather, and thought that Sirius' betrayal didn't deserve a trial or had the Headmaster known that Sirius wasn't the information source?

Because if Dumbledore had known about Pettigrew _, then Dumbledore had sacrificed Harry's parents, Sirius, and Remus all to make sure that the 'prophecy child' could 'fulfill their destiny'_.

Sadly, the more Harry learned and thought about his life and experiences, the more likely such a cold, uncaring scenario seemed to make sense. He didn't want to think badly of the man, because Harry had respected Dumbledore more than anyone else in the world, but the more he learned the more he questioned and the more he questioned…..

"For the 'Greater Good'." Filius huffed contemptuously; breaking into Harry's spiraling thoughts and drawing a wan smile from the teen.

"At any rate." Andromeda continued, breaking off from her side-conversation with Lavender after a moment. "Ted could use his Flames, and as his spouse, I was informed. I later achieved Activation myself, and Nym was born a year or so later. I _still_ believe that her awakening the dormant Metamorphic talent of the Blacks was tied to my and Ted's Flames somehow."

"Entirely plausible." Filius agreed, sipping at his own tea as the conversation steered back into lighter topics. "However, now that you have achieved Activation, it opens up a new path for you."

Harry's first instinct was to scream 'No!' and proclaim that he didn't want anything to do with the Mafia, however…..

Harry had seen corruption. Hell, Harry had seen how those who protected could become the oppressors and how sometimes you had to take matters into your owns hands. He'd been a villain and a hero in the same breath, and he'd never be able to see the world in a 'good guys' versus 'bad guys' sort of way after a year on the run with two other teenagers and an entire government after his head.

Filius seemed to see the debate on Harry's face and smiled at his student. "It's a slippery slope and there is no 'right' answer. However, being a Hitman, especially a freelance one, is liberating in some aspects. I, for one, received most of my Hit Contracts from the INTERPOL doesn't-exist-on-paper-liaison office." The tiny man smirked and bounced in his seat excitedly. "By law there are certain areas of the world that slimy bastards who murder, rape, and torture can go hide as they are officially sanctuaries and have laws that prevent or protect from extradition. That's when the INTERPOL agents turn to their 'nonexistent' liaison office."

"Oh?" Harry was equal parts amused and horrified, exchanging incredulous glances with Lavender as he listened to the explanation.

"Yes, well." Filius grimaced. "Unfortunately there seems to be no shortage of unpleasant individuals in this world with no sense of common decency."

"The Contracts are crafted from information that is provided by INTERPOL or a number of other law-abiding agencies, really." Andy continued, smirking at the two teens' looks of incredulity as she took up the explanation. "The Agency is called the Jackson-Svelden Exchange, and it operates as a legitimate Bounty Hunter Agency as well as a Hit Contract Organization."

"The Mafia is made up by Famiglia who are constantly trying to gain power and numbers and so on." Filius explained further. "But if you know how you can be an Independent Agent, as I was. Established Famiglia can try to curry favor to get you to join or ally with them, but if you establish yourself correctly you fall under the blanket protection of the Vindice, as neither of you have bloodlines that-" Filius cut himself off and looked at both of his students carefully.

" _What_?" Harry asked, dread coiling in his gut.

"Well, we are safe to assume that Lavender does not have a pressing Blood Precedents as she is a Pureblood, but your mother was a muggleborn, Harry, so it is possible that you would."

"What?" Harry blurted out incredulously. "The Dursley were my only family. It's why I had to stay with them!"

"Yes, but that was only due to your mother's connection to Petunia." Andy replied smoothly. "Blood Precedents last for three generations. Meaning that if one of your grandparents were tied to a Famiglia, that Famiglia would have a legitimate claim to you. It could be denied, overruled, or claimed but it can't be _ignored_."

"Can we find out?" Lavender asked curiously.

"Yes, we can!" Filius cheered excitedly, bouncing a bit in his seat. "It will take a great deal of time to prepare the correct Potions and Charm Tree, so until then-"

"-we will be putting you brats through some training!" Andy finished with a disturbingly gleeful look on her face.

"Uh…" Harry started, feeling a bit unnerved by how excited Andy was about such a thing.

Lavender seemed to share his disquiet, so that made him feel a bit better.

"Well, you were already studying to take your NEWTs, so we'll just have to get you up to par in other areas as well!" Filius pronounced enthusiastically, and the feeling of _impending doom_ only intensified. "First up, awareness and caution! This entire incident could have been avoided with the proper precautions." Filus stared at Harry steadily and Harry blushed in chastisement.

"I hope you two aren't too attached to your sleep." Andromeda added with a (treacherous) placid smile.

Harry did not like that smile _at all_.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

By the time Teddy's first birthday rolled around on the seventeenth of April 1999, both Harry and Lavender were nearly convinced that their mentors had split personalities.

Most of the time their mentors were kind, understanding people who could be talked to about anything at just about any time. Then, whenever it was time for a new 'lesson', their mentors transitioned to 'Sadistic Trainers from the Depths of Tartarus '.

Random ambushes at that happened literally at any time or being unexpectedly locked in rooms spelled to not let Harry or Lavender out without completing a hidden objective. Usually once they figured out the objective they'd only have so much time before suddenly certain senses would be cut off, or certain spells wouldn't work. As time progressed they would not only lose senses past a certain amount of time, (or after a certain amount of mistakes), only one of them would be able to use magic while the other could use their Flames.

Not to mention the physical challenges that their trainers put them through to 'help improve their fitness and critical thinking'. During those challenges their magic was suppressed and using Flames was considered 'cheating' and earned them 'penalties'.

(Harry had figured out that using Flames in a manner that wasn't obvious was the loophole. Lavender had punched him in the arm when _she'd_ figured it out and realized that he already knew.)

Once they would start to get the hang of things their trainers would pile on new handicaps and challenges.

Like putting them in a highly populated area with children and having them be attacked. They couldn't use magic or overtly use their Flames, even though using Flames did seem to apply a mild _Confundus_ affect to 'normal' people. Time would pass and their attackers would get better and try to take hostages while Harry and Lavender suffered from 'penalties'.

The Confudus effect of Flames was only momentary and seemed to only affect those who didn't possess the capacity for Flame use. Filius theorized that the effect was from someone 'not in the know' seeing something so entirely outlandish that their mind essential shut down for a moment to preserve itself from harm.

"I attribute the phenomena akin to someone fainting in a stressful situation." Filius had explained over dinner one evening. "There is literally so much bizarre information for a moment that the mind 'faints' to keep from being overwhelmed or torn apart. Sadly, this effect doesn't last very long as the mind 'wakes up' fairly quickly and then the person is at least aware of something ridiculous happening, even if they cannot see the Flames themselves."

Eventually the simulation would cease and they would remember that they were in one of the 'special' room at Number Twelve. The room had been Filius and Andy's pet project after they realized that both teens had Flames and both of them knew what Flames were. An accomplished Hitman, Dueling Champion, Charms Master, and the Head of Ravenclaw House along with a woman raised a daughter of the House of Black, survived Slytherin House, and raised a metamorphagus, both of whom had many years to test and develop theories about magic/Flame hybridization were a frightening pair of 'simulation room' designers. Filius and Andy- or worse, _both_ of them- would be ready to make them watch the simulation in a Pensive and pick apart the two teens' performances and then the teens would have to write essays on how they could have done better.

Filius had amazing connections due to being Ravenclaw's Head of House for so many years and even more exotic contacts from his dueling and hitman days. Andy and Filius were of the 'waste not, want not' school of thought. So the simulations were also used as fodder to help the teens study for their NEWTs, and most of the essays the two mentors assigned the teens complimented the essays from their latest simulation results.

Runic Puzzles, Arithmetic Traps, unconventional uses of Charms, unusual Transfigurations and historic battle tactics. All of these things and more were hidden within the simulations, on top of the overt objectives, tripping Harry and Lavender up whenever their concentration wavered or they weren't vigilant.

"Constant Vigilance!" Andy chirped cheerfully as Harry and Lavender were ejected from yet _another_ simulation.

Both teens moaned in apprehension, they knew their performance had been _atrocious_.

The penalties for this one were going to be _bloody awful_.

"Now, now!" Andy sang brightly, holding Teddy in her arms as the toddler giggled at the funny faces the two teens were pulling. "Even a single misstep can cost you everything!"

"You're both sadists." Harry groaned, dragging a hand through his floridly colored hair. He was pretty sure it was an eye searing shade of green and a sickly neon yellow combination, from what he could see of it.

"Agreed." Lavender moaned as she looked at the dots that had broken out all over her skin. The dots were varying shades of purple and far too distinct to be mistaken for freckles.

Andy only chuckled, the evil woman, and swept towards them, depositing Teddy in his Godfather's arms and all-out laughing as Teddy scrunched up his face and tried to copy Harry's hair color. "You'll thank us someday!" She told them when her laughter died down. "But for now, Lavender has an Arithmetic Trap tied to a Transfiguration to dismantle and Harry has a Runic Puzzle tied to a Charm to solve."

Teddy squealed excitedly as his Godfather sprawled out onto his back, allowing the one year old to use him for a jungle gym.

―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―~~―

Harry shuffled anxiously as he and Lavender made their way towards the Ministry of Magic, where they were scheduled to begin their Exams at the Wizarding Examinations Authority.

While neither Harry nor Lavender stayed at Number Twelve _all_ the time- there were lots of outings, mostly for Teddy's amusement- neither one of them had been in the Wizarding World much since the War had ended nearly a year ago. Well, Harry had been in the magical world more than Lavender simply because of his business with Lord Federline.

Harry had sponsored a plethora of businesses that had been on the verge of failing, backed a large number of business-startups, and donated a significant amount of wealth to places that had truly needed it in the aftermath of the War. However, with his withdrawal from public life and his refusal to endorse the Ministry- though he'd issued a statement that endorsed Kingsley and a few others who had fought, specifically- he wasn't the most beloved person in Magical Britain.

While that might seem absurd- after all he'd _died_ to end Voldemort- one had to take into account of the fact that since his return to the magical world in 1991, he had been receiving bad press nearly constantly and had never actually been proactive in trying to fight that misinformation, the interview with the Quibbler notwithstanding.

Just after First Year he'd received a notice for Underaged Magic which had seemed to many as him 'flaunting his status', (a rumor which had been fueled by Snape and the Death Eaters, who were trying to discredit the Light Icon). His misadventure with Ron and the Flying Car which had endangered the Statute hadn't helped, and the addition of the discovery that he could speak with Parseltongue certainly hadn't endeared the people to him, either. Third Year there was the accidental magic and Marge, then the end of the year with the Dementors and Fudge refusing to listen about Pettigrew. Fourth Year was the Tournament, which had painted him as an attention-seeking prat, and ever since then he'd been vilified for speaking about Voldemort's return until Voldemort had been spotted in the bloody atrium of the Ministry of Magic, dueling Dumbledore. There were the few months after Fifth Year when he'd been hailed as 'The Chosen One', but then the Ministry had fallen and he'd been 'Undesirable Number One'.

Harry had been quite thorough in his evidence that was shared at the Tribunals, thanks to Andy, Filius, and Lord Federline, but he hadn't actually attended any of them. Instead he'd gone before the Wizengamot in a closed session and had endured nearly eight hours of being grilled about the information that he'd provided, before the Wizengamot had accepted the evidence in full, allowing Lord Federline to attend in Harry's stead.

This hadn't endeared him to a lot of people who had family who were convicted or disagreed with those who were acquitted, as they felt that he had taken 'the easy way out' and blamed him for the 'undesirable' outcomes, even if the Tribunal hadn't needed to reference Harry's provided evidence.

While most people picked and chose what they believed, the fact of the matter was there was more _negative press_ surrounding him since his return in 1991 than positive press, and people had a tendency to forget positive things _much faster_ than they forgot negative things.

Compounding the cloud of negative press that had been building around him since his re-introduction to the Wizarding World was his inheritance as Lord Potter-Black. Now he not only had the full might of the House of Potter behind him, he had inherited a number of estates that had formerly belonged to Death Eaters because those estates had reverted all the way back to either the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter or the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black.

So, while the Order members, and their families by extension, were aware of the sacrifices he made, the general public and those who were bitter about the Dark Lord's defeat or the War in general were quick to blame him for just about anything that went wrong.

This had become particularly apparent to him shortly after he'd made several donations to Saint Mungos using the names of his two 'official' Houses and several extinct family lines and there had been an outcry about how 'little' the Houses of Black and Potter had donated. Lord Federline was excellent about keeping outright slander and libel from happening in print, but there were no laws about what was gossiped about at the Apothecary or at Flourish and Blotts, which was where most of the discontent with how 'little' Harry had done to help 'clean up his mess' festered nowadays.

Harry and Lavender reached the Visitor's Entrance to the Ministry and received their badges, taking the lift down to the Ministry itself and registering their wands with the eternally-bored security guard, who only had a brief interest in Harry before becoming bored again.

"I want to be half as awesome as the security guy someday." Harry whispered conspiratorially to Lavender as they entered one of the lifts, (thankfully empty), and chose the correct level.

"Level Two, Department of Wizengamot Administrative Services, Offices of the Wizarding Examinations Authority." The automated voice spoke clearly as the terraced grill barred the lift entrance before the lift was off, taking them towards their destination in a blur of motion. The cool tone of the automated voice caused Harry's spine to tingle unpleasantly, and he shared a commiserating look with Lavender.

"It's almost as bad as Umbridge's girly voice." Harry muttered quietly to his companion.

"We have to come here every day this week." She whispered back to him. "I'm going to have _nightmares_."

"Level Two, Department of Wizengamot Administrative Services, Offices of the Wizarding Examinations Authority. "The cool monotone spoke again as the lift ground to a halt and the terraced grill retracted. "Thank you and please enjoy your visit to the Ministry of Magic."

Harry and Lavender exchanged another commiserating look and hurriedly exited the lift.

"Why can't we just take _stairs_?" Harry whined as they made their way to the office's entrance.

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"You would think." Harry grunted as he dodged a volley of bullets. "That passing our NEWTs would make things easier."

"Silly Potter!' Lavender managed to gasp out as she ducked and rolled out of the way of a strange-looking cleaver weapon. "We're students of the Sadistic Trainers from the Depths of Tartarus ."

"Oh. Right." Harry deadpanned as he flattened himself to a tree and tried to take stock of the situation. "Arithmetic Trap a little to your right and there's a Runic Array to my right, pretty sure it is tied to a set of charms, but I can't see all of it."

"Fantastic." Lavender replied sarcastically. "About how long do we have before penalties kick in?"

"About three minutes, going by the average."

"Bloody hell."

"Tartarus . Bloody Tartarus ." Harry corrected her with a cheeky grin as he began to plot out a course of action.

"Right." Lavender muttered mutinously. "I say-" Her mouth continued to move, but her voice stopped.

"Looks like penalties are kicking in." Harry grimaced as he felt the (unfortunately) familiar sensation of his magic being suppressed. " _Bollocks_."

Lavender nodded and signed something to him. They had needed to learn sign language to combat the ever present threat of not being able to speak. Of course, they were far from being experts, but they could fumble around enough to generally be understood.

You know, until one of the penalties temporarily blinded one of them, and then they had to get _truly_ creative.

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Harry stared at his hands.

His clean hands with nothing on them.

All Harry could see was blood.

He was back inside the hotel room that he had rented for the week. He and Lav were posing as a couple at a Croatian resort in Novalja, a town on the northern part of the island of Pag. The city had easy access to the famous Zrće Beach, one of the most popular summer party zones in Europe.

It was most likely why Harry's target had decided to hide there, aside from Croatia not having an extradition treaty with the countries who wanted the man dead.

Filius had gotten the contract and edited out all of the information about what the man had done, simply leaving information that would assist in Harry catching the man.

Lavender had her own target, who was located in the nearby city of Gajac, and would likely be back soon.

One of the things that had been firmly impressed upon the two of them was how to ascertain how magic was traced in countries outside of Great Britain, so they wouldn't be violating the laws of the local magical enclaves.

Fortunately, the Croatian islands were widespread enough that Harry and Lavender could make use of apparition without being traced.

Until she returned however, all Harry had for company was the invisible blood staining his hands and the haunting memory of the way the light had left the man's hazel eyes after Harry had neatly struck the man's neck, Propagating the force of his blow and crushing the man's windpipe.

It had been ridiculously simple, too.

Pull the unsuspecting victim into an alley along his usual route back to his hideout after a night of partying and a few minutes later he was dead.

Harry put his face in his hands as he thought about the way the man's fingers curled as his body fell. All Harry could think about was how once there was a mother who had held those hands, like Harry held Teddy's, and helped the man learn to count or play peek-a-boo or-

A soft crack sounded and Harry moved quickly to allow Lavender access to the toilet, listening as she retched and sobbed into the porcelain object, much as he'd done not too much earlier.

What the hell were they thinking?

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Filius gave both the bedraggled-looking teens a measured look before replying. "Hm. So that's how you feel."

Harry felt the words slice through him with the precision of a scalpel and suddenly his speech about morals and life and _how he couldn't do this_ seemed strangely cheap and wanting.

Beside him, Lavender shuddered and her head tipped forward as she cried silent tears.

It had been so different from the War, when they'd been fighting for their lives. They had _deliberately stalked_ and _murdered_ two individuals.

"You, Harry, went after a man whose crimes you knew nothing about and I specifically spelled the both of you to not be able to find out such information for the duration of your Hit."

Harry and Lavender's eyes zeroed in on their mentor. "What?"

Filius lifted a hand to forestall questions and outbursts. "Only a few people could possibly do such a thing with magic, and I am one of them. However." The tiny man's presence seemed to fill the room. "I did so for a reason. I wanted you to perform your first Hit without the buoyance of righteous anger of justice. I wanted you to remember how quickly and easily the training you have been put through and your innate talents can allow you to take another person's life. I want you to remember this and _never take such things for granted_."

At the expressions on the two teens' faces, Filius took a breath and seemed to shrink back down to his normal size. "It is easy to be corrupted by power." Filius told them gently. "You both know this from the War, but I wanted you both to be aware that you possess the kind of power that _can_ be corrupted _personally_." Filius hummed and walked closer to the two, putting a small hand on each of their shoulders, as he was standing on the picnic table top in the park they'd chosen as the rendezvous point while both teens were sitting on the picnic table bench. "You're walking a road of grey, and it will often be slippery and confusing, but as long as you remember how you feel right now you will always have an appreciation of what it is like to be lost. Knowing how lost feels, however, will allow you to gauge how it feels to be found."

Both teens blinked slowly, and Lavender's sniffles began to die down.

"You wanted us." Harry replied slowly, brows furrowing as he tried to muddle his way through what he felt and what his mentor was saying. "To know what it was like to feel scared of our power so we won't abuse it?"

Filius smiled and patted both teens on the shoulder before stepping back. "Essentially. Power can corrupt even the purest of hearts, Harry, Lavender, and two of you possess both magic and the Dying Will Flames. If you never had a moment where you truly feared your power you could never truly respect and own it."

Both teens were silent at that admission.

"However." Filius spoke after giving then a few minutes to process, producing two file folders from his jacket. "This is the information that was withheld from you."

Harry and Lavender took the files and began to read them.

Suddenly they didn't nearly as remorseful for their actions, though they'd never forget that particular life lesson.

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After that first job Harry and Lavender were allowed to pick their own Contracts, but they still felt rather unsettled by watching their targets expire.

They slowly began to build up their portfolio as freelance Contractors, but it was a slow-going process.

Partly because there was loads of work that went into tracking a target and while magic allowed them to cheat a bit, they still had to be able to navigate the nonmagical world and its ever-evolving technology.

Lavender, as a Pureblood, was rather disadvantaged as far as nonmagical education went, but Harry came up with the bright idea of going to a nonmagical University for business, or whatever they would decide on later, once they'd gotten more information.

Harry, however, was thinking about his many estates and how he couldn't continue to rely so heavily on Filius and Lord Federline to guide him forever. At the end of the day those estates and the way they were managed were solely Harry's responsibility, and while Filius and Lord Federline could continue as trusted advisors, any misstep or bad business deal would solely be Harry's mistake. This meant that he had a great deal of incentive to learn all the nitty-gritty details about business operations and business management, because he never wanted to become Vernon Dursley who blamed everyone around him and was entirely ineffective when something didn't go his way.

Of course, their Sadistic Trainers from the Depths of Tartarus were _delighted_.

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Time passed and save for some infrequent letters, birthday presents and Christmas presents sent to and received from those from his Hogwarts years, Harry's only connections to the magical world were Filius and Lord Federline, as he didn't count Andy, Teddy, or Lavender.

Teddy had recently turned seven and was still the most adorable thing that Harry had ever seen. The young Metamorphagus had a tendency to use his mother's hair color, Harry's eyes color, and Remus' grin to get just about whatever he wanted.

That wasn't to say that the boy was reminiscent of a younger Dudley Dursley, but Teddy was positively showered with love and affection.

Harry had grown from the scrawny teen who had barely survived a War to a five-foot, seven-and-a-half inch tall man with a sinuous build and a deceptively innocent looking face. The Lord Potter-Black had recently graduated from Birkbeck, University of London, which was a branch school of the UL that provided evening classes. Well, he'd managed his Bachelor's Degree in Business Management last year and had just recently finished with his Student Teaching requirements for his Teaching Certificate.

Lavender had grown as well, maturing nicely into her curves. The five-foot-five woman had recently managed to finiah her Nursing Degree, a hell of an accomplishment for someone who hadn't had even the basic Primary education of most nonmagical children five short years ago.

They had both done their A-Levels and then gone with the 3-year Bachelor Degree program. It had taken a _lot_ of hard work.

Hard work, Wit-Sharpening Potions, support from Andy and Filius, (who was the Head of Ravenclaw for a _reason_ ), and many, many late nights that turned into obscenely early mornings.

In the end it had been worth it, though, as their education opened up many opportunities to them in normal society as well as the Mafia, and in Harry's case, the magical world as well.

Harry and Lavender had gone through a short period where they'd tried to date, but fortunately Harry had realized that his romantic interests were elsewhere and Lavender had admitted that she saw him more as a cousin or other closely related male family member as opposed to a romantic interest.

It was almost pathetically amusing how much more comfortable the both of them were once they'd decided to transition back to just being 'friends'.

Andy had arched an eyebrow when they'd announced their decision at dinner and held out an imperious hand towards Filius, who grumbled before forking over seven Sickles.

"You best on us breaking up?" Harry had asked her, incredulous and a bit hurt.

Andy had leveled a singularly unimpressed stare at him. "Sweetheart, you're just now coming into your own, as your formative years when more teenagers are figuring themselves out was filled with that ridiculous Prophecy and other distressing factors. I, merely, possess a mother's intuition."

Filius had snorted. "Cheater."

"Use what you've got!" Andy shot back.

"Nana, what are we talking about?" Teddy had whined, unable to follow the conversation.

Harry's face flooded with embarrassment. "Well, imp-ah, you see-" He stuttered out helplessly.

"Your uncle wants his own knight in shining armor instead of being one himself." Lavender told the child glibly.

Teddy's face had scrunched up in adorable confusion. "I don't get it." He'd pouted after a moment.

"You don't need to, little imp." Harry told him after shooting Lavender a betrayed glance. "Just eat your carrots."

"Ok!" Teddy chirped cheerfully, going back to his favorite part of dinner with gusto.

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